We Need to
Talk
With this show kept in Steven’s perspective, all the
development from other characters is present whenever he’s around to witness
or hear about it. This gives the show a unique feel with
everything seen through the eyes of a child.
It’s a clever personification of how the audience experiences and grows to understand the world
of any series.
An strong example of this perspective at play is in cartoons
where Steven hears about his dad, Greg’s, past back when he first met Rose
Quartz which gives him, and the audience, a clearer perception of how he came
to be, as well as a nice perception on certain life values. The first one, “Story for Steven”, recounted
Greg first meeting Rose and deciding to drop everything to be with her.
This time, the flashback is on how they officially became an item when
Steven and Connie accidentally fuse into Stevonnie in front of Greg, who offers
a perspective on fusion as a human who understands it.
The whole thing begins with an establishment
of how close Greg and Rose have become via a performance of the song, “What Can
I Do for You?” which is made more impactful with Rose’s lines that allude to
her fascination with Earth’s human life. During this song, Pearl attempts to one-up Greg's performance by convincing Rose to fuse with her, resulting in them becoming Rainbow
Quartz. Greg’s astounding reaction from
this fusion is perfectly captured by a dramatic guitar solo in the song’s
second half. Then while Rose is away,
Pearl rubs it in Greg’s face that he, like all humans will never amount to the
greatness of Gems because humans can’t fuse.
Harsh, yet expected, as her words are, they do their
part to make Greg’s newfound ambition to fuse with Rose and officially solidify
his relationship with her perfectly clear.
The only problem is that Gems only fuse with Gems, yet Greg is willing
to try to be the first human to experience fusion. However, no matter how hard he studies the
fusion moves from the song's tape recording or follows the advice
on how it works through his own personal dance, it turns out to be true that as a human, Greg can’t fuse
with Rose. It’s certainly an unfortunate
outcome, especially since it justifies Pearl’s uptight attitude from earlier,
but it’s admirable for the story to go in a more believable direction.
Speaking of believable, what ultimately
brings Greg and Rose together rings very true to how most couples come to be. As Rose laughs without showing any respect to Greg's disappointment (feelings that make too much sense given the most recent events of this show regarding her), he slowly reveals his concerns about their relationship
building up to a basic confession of his love for Rose. Even if they don’t fuse, their love wins through his honesty,
and the couple is made official much to Pearl’s dismay and the other Crystal
Gems’ wonder.
Through Greg’s
own strengths, he finds love his way, resulting in another work from this show
that’s as inspirational as it is nicely constructed, making the setup of Steven needing to be
around for us to see it work. 9.5/10
The Ranking
- Sworn to the Sword
- Keeping it Together
- Full Disclosure
- We Need to Talk
- Reformed
- Joy Ride
- Say Uncle
- Rising Tides, Crashing Skies
- Love Letters
The next Steven Universe review finally gives us an answer on what became of Malachite and a believable reason why the Crystal Gems don't attempt to track her down afterwards.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is another Hey Arnold Season 3 review covering "Career Day" and "Hey Harold".
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